Presentation by Joaquin Mueller at the 5th All Africa conference on animal production, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 25-28 October 2010.

1. Experiences with breedingExperiences with breeding
structures for geneticstructures for genetic
improvement of smallimprovement of small
ruminantsruminants
Joaquin Mueller
National Institute for Agricultural Technology, Argentina
25-28 October 2010, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
55thth
All Africa Conference on Animal AgricultureAll Africa Conference on Animal Agriculture
1919thth
ESAP Annual ConferenceESAP Annual Conference
Commercialization of Livestock Agriculture in Africa: Challenges and opportunities

2. No experience in Africa

3. Breeding structuresBreeding structures
No Conventional
Single
Open Nucleus
Dispersed
Open Nucleus
∆G, lag and ∆F, properties and optimization summarized in text
“Local”
breeds
“International”
breeds
Within flock,
group, village
Within
village

4. Intervention strategiesIntervention strategies
Generate a
breeding structure
Improve efficacy of
breeding structure
Some experiences with sheep, alpacas and goats

5. Improvement of a conventionalImprovement of a conventional
structure:structure:
Merino sheep in ArgentinaMerino sheep in Argentina
• 7 Million Merino sheep
• 80% are family flocks
• Studs: small, pedigree + visual
• Multipliers: insufficient, visual
• Base: dissatisfaction with
Initial situation (1980s – 1990s)

6. • Studs: central progeny testing,
performance recording (BW, FW, FD),
=> BLUP evaluation.
• Multipliers: “MPR”, performance
testing (index), above average + visual
get MPR eartags. Top MPR rams can
replace conventional pedigree rams.
• Base: “MP”, visual inspection + MPR
rams => extension
The “Pure Merino Program”
Farmers pay

7. Genetic progress at stud level
Source: Mueller (2010), n= 25 000
Adjusted to year 2000=0 Body weight (kg)
Fiber diameter (mic)
Fleece weight (kg)

8. MPR:
Visually accepted
Index above 100
MP:
Visually accepted
More than 80 000 animals involved

9. Genetic progress at multiplier level: ¿?
On station genetic progress as difference
from a control line
Mueller (2010). Adult females 1984-2009

10. About 80 000 animals inspected
About 100 farmers involved
Indicator:
MPR’s are sold for
much higher prices

11. Economic evaluation of the MPR
Program (wool, expanded)
Items Program Breeders Woolgrowers Processors Totals
Research -100 000 -100 000
Genetic evaluation 80 000 -80 000 0
Rams 1 390 000 -1 390 000 0
Wool 4 800 000 -4 800 000 0
Tops 16 905 810 16 905 810
Benefit (income-
costs)
1 310 000 3 410 000 12 105 810 16 825 810
Return (income/
costs)
17.4 3.5 3.5 169.1
Participation in
total benefit
8% 20% 72% 100%
Source: Mueller (2010), in USD.

12. Village based open nucleusVillage based open nucleus
systems:systems:
South American Camelids inSouth American Camelids in
Bolivia and PeruBolivia and Peru
• 6 Million in both countries
• Important: culturally, meat, fiber, hides,
transport, draft power, manure.
• No breeding structure
• Village organization and cooperatives
• Small family flocks, some village flocks

13. LlamasAlpaca Huacaya
Alpaca Suri Alpaca Suri

14. Alpaca Huacaya

15. Macusani Cooperative near Puno, Peru

16. Macusani Cooperative alpaca open
nucleus breeding structure
• Nucleus was established with best
females available (visual)
• Replacements selection visual + FD,
very good females are bought into
nucleus from base farmers.
• Nucleus males are classed in 3
• Farmer alpaca females are classed as
they come for mating
• Mating with equal or superior males.
• Mated females return to farmers
First
class
males
Second
class
males
Third
class
males
First
class
females
Second
class
females
Third
class
females
Nucleus
Males
Base
Females

17. Mating at the
Macusani nucleus
flocks
Munay Paq’ocha nucleus Itita nucleus
Alpaca males

18. -Macusani cooperative manager:
“We get better price for our fiber”
• Organized farmers
• Collaboration, support
• Fiber measurement facility
…Our success is based on:

19. Pasco alpaca three tier open nucleus
structure
Multi-communal nucleus
Communal flocks
Huacahuaganan nucleus
Ayaracra nucleus
Best females
Males
Two multi-communal
nucleus flocks
Individual farmer

20. Establishment of multi-communal nucleus

21. 1. Young promising males
are selected visually in
each household
2. Participants feed and manage young
males in turns separate from females
4. Males go for 15 days mating in
participants flocks
3. Participants
select their
preferred males
Pool of
males
Turco (Bolivia) llama breeding structure

22. Breeding structure
drawing at
community school

23. Selecting llama males in Turco
-Discussion of breeding objectives

24. Accuracy of visual breeding
value estimation is not zero
Measured
performance
Selection
+Family
Selection
(BLUP)
30%
60%
90%
Genomic
Selection
100%
Visual
Selection
Random
selection
0%
Example for FW h2
=0.4
√0.4=0.63
r=0.5
n=40

25. Within flock open nucleus:Within flock open nucleus:
Cashmere goats in IranCashmere goats in Iran
• 4 Million Raeini cashmere goats
• Nomad extended families or tribes
• 600 goats / tribe, managed together
summer
winter

27. Breeding objective: meat, fiber
Visual traits: size, color, density, staple length
Measurements: body weight (growth rate), fleece
weight (+ down percentage, fiber diameter)

28. Breeding system
40+2
• Separate visually best 40 females and 2 bucks
• Mate nucleus and base first 20 days separately
• During night keep in corral
• During day graze or feed separately
• After 20 days graze/mate together as usual
• At kidding identify nucleus progeny by date of birth
• Castrate males in base
• Replace worse buck on progeny test with best nucleus
born young buck
• Use next best bucks in base
• Avoid mating with daughters: circulate / exchange

29. Corral for nucleus mating at night

30. Sustainability - Results
• Cost per tribe:
– Fence: once only, local government?
– Barley or labor: yearly, decreasing
– Fleece samples: yearly, research?
• Expected results:
– Response as in woolen sheep
– Cashmere suitable for yarn making (dehairing issue)
– Improved raw cashmere for export (= chinese, 25%)

31. • We have the tools to estimate progress, lags and
inbreeding to design optimum breeding structures.
• In practice we usually work with an existing or evolving
breeding structure and will need tactical optimization.
• The important point is to discuss the logic of a structure
with the farmers and analyze options for implementation.
• Open nucleus systems are particularly useful when
selection objectives are not clearly expressed and when
data collection is difficult.
• Breeding structures usually lead to other collective
actions such as joint marketing of products.
Some experiences and commentsSome experiences and comments

32. Thank you very much
jmueller@bariloche.inta.gov.ar